Wednesday 30 October 2013

More Georgia Boys



Jane Thomas kindly wrote to me after reading my blog article about the Georgia Boys. If you haven't read the article, it tells of my time as a boy in the early 1970s taking guitar lessons from Pete Martin who was one of a local duo, the Georgia Boys. Jane sent me a photo of the couple back in the 1970s. This is a photo that Pete also gave me at the time but it has long since been lost so it's great to see it again. The Georgia Boys were regulars on Westward Television, Plymouth Sound and at venues all around the region at the time. Jane reminded me that the other member of the duo was Dave Bassett who also played with a folk band called 'Beggars, Tramps and Thieves'. Like myself, Jane also took guitar lessons with Pete but was more successful than me and became a guitar teacher herself years later (I still can't play!).
Pete's biog reads: 'Pete Martin was born in Alberta, Canada and, as a boy, moved to Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. which he now calls home. He made his name as a vocalist and a flat-pick guitarist and has worked with such greats as Ramblin Jack Elliott, Derroll Adams, Slim Whitman and has a long friendship with Murray Kash. On the Columbia label, Pete recorded 'No-one will ever know' which sold well. This was followed by both appearances on BBC and ITV.'
I don't know what happened to either Pete or Dave after the 1970s and local appearances seemed to dwindle. I've searched on the internet but have found nothing.
My original article can be read here:
http://plymouthlocalhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/georgia-boys.html

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Gogmagog and this month's Shopper article

Regular readers will know that I write a a column for the free Plymouth paper, 'The Shopper' each month. This month's article is about Gogmagog and the chalk giants that once stood on the Hoe.
For anyone who doesn't get the paper, here's the article for you to read.


(Please click on picture to enlarge).